BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Three letters formed the buzz word around Auburn football this spring: NFL.

Players learned pro techniques from new coordinators with NFL backgrounds, Scot Loeffler and Brian VanGorder. Huddling and snaps from under center occurred. And Gene Chizik listed learning NFL terminology on offense and defense as the biggest change for Auburn players.

"We have to show clips a lot of the NFL because when we install something, our kids have to know what it looks like," Chizik told listeners on his statewide radio show. "Next year, we'll show our own clips."

It's no coincidence Auburn now sells NFL concepts. The factory down the road in Tuscaloosa, run by ex-NFL coach Nick Saban, continues to churn out elite NFL prospects at a rate never seen before in SEC history.

Up to five Alabama players could be first-round picks next week: Trent Richardson, Courtney Upshaw, Dre Kirkpatrick, Mark Barron and Dont'a Hightower. Brandon Mosley may be Auburn's only draft pick, as a middle-rounder.

Jon Solomon is a columnist for The Birmingham News. Join him for live web chats on college sports on Wednesdays at 2 p.m.

Chizik isn't alone in trying to keep pace with Saban's talent. Chizik just happens to live in the same state.

So Auburn had a choice: Concede the NFL to Alabama, or sell the NFL in its own way. Auburn went all-in on the NFL, which could mean a greater learning curve in the short term and better players in the long run.

VanGorder ran the Atlanta Falcons' defense for four years. Loeffler spent one year as the Detroit Lions' quarterbacks coach and has had six college quarterbacks drafted.

Auburn saw Cam Newton get drafted No. 1 and Nick Fairley No. 13 last year. Newton, whose NFL career will only help Auburn, quieted skeptics with a record-breaking rookie season. But there was a moment last year that didn't help Auburn's NFL perception.

Jon Gruden asked Newton on ESPN to call what an Auburn play sounds like. Newton froze and then replied that Auburn's method is "simplistic equals fast."

Chizik and Gus Malzahn need not apologize for running an offense designed to win games. University presidents don't fire coaches for producing too few NFL draft picks. But coaches win games by acquiring talent and developing them. Recruits, most of whom will never have a pro career, often pick schools based on NFL aspirations.

As Steve Spurrier said to ESPN.com of Saban, "He's got a nice little gig going, a bit like (John) Calipari. He tells guys, 'Hey, three years from now, you're going to be a first-round pick and go.'"

Auburn, meanwhile, has as many draft picks since 2009 as Tennessee and Ole Miss and fewer than South Carolina. Auburn dominated Alabama 19-12 on the draft-pick scoreboard from 2005 to 2008, but Alabama leads 16-9 over the past three years.

That gap grows next week, by which point Alabama could have more first-round picks in the past four years than Auburn's total picks over that period. Alabama, which had no first-round picks from 2001 to 2008, has seven in the past three years and could have up to 12 since 2009 after next week. To put that in perspective, Alabama had 12 first-round picks from 1986 to 2008.

No one may ever catch Miami's 19 first-rounders over four years from 2001-04. But Alabama is positioned to top Ohio State's 10 from 2004-07 and USC's nine from 2006-09. The SEC record for first-rounders over four years is seven, shared by LSU (2004-07), Tennessee (1991-94), Florida three times (2007-10, 1998-2001, 1997-2000) and now Alabama in just three years.

After next week, Auburn figures to have five or six draft picks since winning the 2010 national title. That's the second-fewest over two years for a national champion in the past 20 years. The average is 13 picks.

Oklahoma had four picks in the two years after its 2000 title. Like Chizik, Bob Stoops won it all in Year 2. Since then, Oklahoma has sent five players a year to the NFL.

Chizik would love such a number at Auburn, which averaged almost five NFL picks annually from 2004 to '08.

The alternative is falling further behind Saban in the hearts and minds of recruits' NFL aspirations.